Toward a same-sex marriage political vocabulary

Posted: 24 Sep 2009 04:30 PM PDT

I've blogged before about how we don't really have a way of describing the political diversity within the American queer population on LGBT issues. So I'm humbly proposing a few terms to discuss the way people think and talk about same-sex marriage. We're far from uniform within the queer community when it comes to our beliefs about this institution and our activism around it, and instead of starting from zero every time we talk about what X or Y person thinks about it, it would make sense to develop a meta-political vocabulary.

I came up with six rough categories, based not on polling data or studies since I don't know of any that are sufficient to this end, and therefore these terms are entirely inappropriate in a policy discussion. It's based instead on what I've learned from reading several dozen queer blogs and a dozen queer journals daily for going on three years now, as well as political discussions here on the site and among friends. Sure, there are as many beliefs when it comes to same-sex marriage as there are people in the LGBTQ population, and there's lots of diversity within these categories, but it's a starting point.

In order of descending size:

Continue reading "Toward a same-sex marriage political vocabulary"...

Related articles by Zemanta

• Toward a same-sex marriage political vocabulary (bilerico.com)
• There's No Repealing Prop 8 Until Gays Repeal Our Own Self-Importance (queerty.com)
• We May Win, but at What Cost? (bilerico.com)

Sphere: Related Content

When Do You Tell?

The following has been clipped from The Bilerico Project Report dated 10 September 2009.
_____________________________

Editors' note: Monica F. Helms is the president of the Transgender Americans Veterans Association.

Image via Wikipedia

 

One of the most controversial subject matters in the transgender community has to do with when to tell a new or potential love interest about your trans status. Logic dictates that this question should be a "no-brainer," in a world where trans violence has become as common as rain. However, when talking about trans people in love, specifically trans women, one can flush logic down the toilet.

In a previous article, "Stuck in Loneliness", I pointed out the many things that make trans people lonely. From personal experience, I can tell you that the feeling of loneliness can be debilitating at times. For many trans women, anyone who comes along to take away that loneliness would be considered a golden find. For a post-op, to keep this person in their lives, they will spend hours of time and a great deal of energy justifying why they should not tell them about being trans. The fear of loneliness does that to them.

One of the biggest building blocks for any relationship, no matter what kind, would have to be "Trust." If you do not start off with trust, then the entire relationship will fail. Trust is the primary foundation for ALL relationships, but especially in the trans community. Why do some trans people feel immune from having to tell the truth to their new love? This does not make us look good overall.

Continue reading "When Do You Tell? " . . .

Related articles by Zemanta

• When Do You Tell? (bilerico.com)

 

Sphere: Related Content

Obama Keeps Up Health Care Push, Citing Uninsured

Image by Stephan Geyer via Flickr

The following has been clipped from The New York Times dated 09 September 2009:
__________________________

NEWS ANALYSIS; Despite Fears, Health Care Overhaul Is Moving Ahead (September 9, 2009 http://.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/health/policy/09assess.html?fta=y

Related articles by Zemanta

• The Other Enemies of "The Good" (firedoglake.com)
• Everyone should read this article about end-of-life care (notratched.wordpress.com)

Sphere: Related Content